A random dictionary challenge
by I'm awesome and y'all know it
Summary: Just a little something I decided to start. I'm going to pick a random word from the dictionary and write a Drabble about it for each chapter. Anyone is welcome to try this challenge. I don't know what genres to put, I put the ones that will be most relevant. Based on the word, they could be pretty much everything except Horror and Western.
1. Chapter 1: Melody

**I've decided to do this as a challenge for myself. I'm going to take a random word from the dictionary and try to write a TMNT drabble about it. You're all welcome to try the challenge as well, but please include that you got the word from this. Thanks. **

**Disclaimer: I own the Ninja Turtles: True/False? (Hint: false) I also don't own the song lyrics. Those belong to Taylor Swift. **

_Word: Melody_

_Time: Sometime before Karai's Vendetta. I don't have an exact time frame in mind. _

April moved around her aunt's apartment, humming along to the radio as she fixed herself a snack. She knew she should be working on her homework, but she was hungry and Trig was her worst subject. As she pulled out a bowl of cereal, she started to sing along.

"Elevator buttons and morning air

Strangers' silence makes me wanna take the stairs

If you were here we'd laugh about their vacant stares

But right now my time is theirs."

Ever since her father had disappeared, people had started to act weird around her. People that used to laugh and joke with her stayed silent and looked away uncomfortably, like they didn't know what to say. Some tried to offer apologies, but they somehow sounded fake and forced.

Others made fun of her, telling her that her farther had run away, that he didn't want her anymore, that he'd found a new wife. She tried not to show it, but those words hurt her. It was made worse by the fact that she knew where he really was: imprisoned by alien robots called the Kraang. She wasn't sure if it was worse knowing that or if it would be worse to know he'd left her. She found herself listening again.

"'Cause I love the gap between your teeth

And I love the riddles that you speak." Had this song been written for Donnie? It almost seemed like it. She thought fondly of the tall, purple masked turtle with the little gap in his teeth. She'd noticed how awkward he was around her, and she thought it was adorable.

There was a tapping coming from her bedroom. She grabbed her cereal and headed over quickly. Now she could hear a soft voice saying her name. She looked out and saw Donnie standing on her balcony. She opened the window.

"Hey Donnie! What's up?" She asked, taking a bite if her cereal.

He tapped his fingers together awkwardly. "Just, you know, checking up on you. In case of, um, Kraang or...something." He stuttered awkwardly.

April smiled. "Alright. How about you come in and I get you some pizza?"

"In-in your house?" Donnie sounded so surprised.

"Sure. I have half a pepperoni pizza going to waste here..." April said, trying to sound persuasive.

"Ok then. Um, if you don't mind." Donnie started through the window.

"Of course I don't mind. Silly turtle." April led her friend to the kitchen, where the song was ending. She realized with surprise that the song had helped her sort through her feelings, at least a little.

The melody played through her head as she handed Don his piece if pizza. _I love the gap between your teeth..._

**I haven't written something like this before. Please tell me what you thought! I'll try to do this at least once a week, but it depends how I'm feeling and how school goes. Review please!**


	2. Chapter 2: Lucky

**Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I'm so glad you liked it. Here is my second drabble: Lucky.**

_Word: Lucky_

_Time: After Showdown_

It had been a week since they'd destroyed the Technodrome, and the Hamatos were still a little tense. This was bugging Mikey, who was naturally cheerful and disliked the uncomfortable silences that seemed to crop up at every turn. So he decided to fix it, in his own way.

He crept out of the kitchen where he had been experimenting with making a pizza cake and looked around the lair. Leo was sitting on the floor of the pit, engrossed in watching Space Heroes. What he saw in that stupid show, Mikey had no idea. Raph was sitting on the beanbag with Spike on his shoulder. Raph was reading a comic while Spike chewed his bandana. Every so often the red masked turtle stole a furtive glance at the tv. Donnie was nowhere to be seen; he was probably camping out in his lab again. Master Splinter was meditating. It was the perfect time for what he had planned.

Mikey quietly ran to his room and gathered up several water balloons. Then, chuckling quietly, he ran back into the living room and headed for Donnie's lab. Hiding a water balloon behind his back, the orange masked jokester walked casually into the lab, where Donnie was doing something to the Shellraiser that Mikey didn't even bother to try to understand. It seemed to involve paint and a blowtorch.

"Hey, Don!" He said cheerfully, radiating innocence.

Donnie pushed up his metal mask. "What do you want Mikey?" He sighed.

"Oh, nothing. Just...this!" Mikey threw a water balloon at Donnie, making the wet paint on the Shellraiser run. Then he ran out of the room as Donnie ripped off his mask and gave chase. "Doctor Prankenstein strikes again!"

()()()

Donnie gave up after a few rounds around the lair. He knew he couldn't catch Mikey like this, so why bother trying? His mind was already forming plans for revenge. He caught sight of a pile of abandoned water balloons, and the normally peaceful turtle's face broke into an evil smile. He picked up a few balloons and took them back to his lair.

After a few quick tests, he determined that it was in fact possible to fill water balloons with watered down paint. He mixed up some and filled several water balloons with it. Then he went hunting for his prankster brother.

()()()

Mikey sat down on the couch, congratulating himself on how well his first prank had gone. He wouldn't be able to do the second prank until everyone was asleep, and he'd already made the preparations. Now there was nothing to do but wait and watch Batman.

"Hey, Mikey," said Donnie in a bad imitation of his younger brother.

"What?" Replied the orange turtle, immediately on guard.

"This!" Donnie shouted happily as he upended a bucket of paint filled water balloons on Mikey, who let out a yelp in surprise.

"Who's Doctor Prankenstein now, huh?" Donnie said smugly.

"You just got lucky!" Mikey cried indignantly. Donnie just chuckled.

**Well, that's the second chapter! And right on schedule, too. If you find any mistakes, let me know. I tried to correct them all, but there's always one. Please review, and I hope you liked it. **


	3. Chapter 3: Human

**Hello, readers! It's time for the third chapter of this challenge. Hope you like it!**

_Word: human_

_Time: sometime after April moves into the lair_

The four turtles came into the lair after their evening patrol. Leo plopped onto the couch and turned the tv to Space Heroes. Raph went to check on Spike, and Mikey headed for the kitchen.

April waited for Donnie to come sit on the couch and tell her about what had happened on the patrol, but instead he just trudged past her and went into his lab, closing the door hard. April frowned in confusion. What was wrong with him? She knew that he sometimes ran straight for his lab after coming home if he'd had a good idea, or if something had gone wrong. But this seemed different. It seemed more like the purple masked turtle was upset about something.

"What's wrong with Donnie?" She asked Leo.

Leo shrugged. "I'm not sure. We were heading home from beating up some Foot ninjas, and then Donnie looked down at some people on the street and he just seemed to get really upset. I looked to, but I don't know what might have upset him so much."

"I'll go talk to him," April said, worried about her friend. She got up from the couch and marched determinedly toward the lab.

()()()

Donnie sat down at his desk and put his head in his hands sadly. After they'd beat up the Foot ninjas, he'd felt fine. Cheerful, even. And then he saw them. They weren't doing anything wrong or odd. Just a young couple holding hands. But seeing them had made Donnie painfully aware of the fact that he could never be with April like that. Because he wasn't human.

He became aware of someone knocking at his door. "I don't want to talk to you Leo!" He called, guessing it was his oldest brother come to attempt to comfort him.

"Actually, it's me. Can I come in?" It was April! Why was she here? "I don't want to talk right now. Please just go away April," he said in a quieter voice than the one her used before.

Instead of answering, April slid open the door to his lab. Shell, he forgot to lock it. He didn't look up as the redhead entered the room. "What's wrong Donnie?" She asked.

"I don't want to talk about it April. Please, just go away!" He snarled. Then his eyes widened as he realized what he's just done. "April, I'm sorry..."

"What's going on, Donnie? You're never like this." April pressed.

"April, I'm fine. Don't you have someone human to talk to?" He asked unhappily.

April frowned and drew back slightly. "What do you mean, human? Is that what this is all about? You think I don't like you because you're not human?"

Donnie nodded without saying anything. April suddenly put her arms around him. "I don't are about that Donnie! You're _my _Donnie, and I don't care if you're human or not!"

Donnie smiled hesitantly and looked up. "Are you sure?" He was aware that he sounded like a whiny five year old, and he didn't care. _She called me her Donnie. _

"Positive."

**Another Donnie fic? What's up with that? I'm not really sure if this turned out as well as the others, but oh well. Hope you liked it. Until next time!**


	4. Chapter 4: Blackberry

**Thisis going to be a little on the short side. I had a good one written out, but for some reason it suddenly disappeared while I was writing. And I hadn't saved it. **

_Word: blackberry_

_Time: turtle tots! Yay!_

"No! Tell me it's not true!" The eldest turtle looked up from his Space Heroes episode as Mikey's shout echoed through the lair.

"What?" He called, trying to find his little brother. He didn't have to search long. Mikey came barreling into the main room at top speed, crashing into Leo and knocking him down. Donnie followed at a slower pace, dragging a huge fat book. He looked slightly confused.

"Calm down and tell me what happened," Leo said, trying to appear as grown up as he could.

"Donnie's book is wong! It has to be! Othewise it makes no sense!" Mikey babbled.

Leo turned to Donnie. "What's he tawking about?" He said slowly, not sure if he wanted to hear the answer.

Donnie opened his mouth, but before he could say anything Mikey interrupted him. "He says they're not what they say they are! If the name says it, it's twue! Isn't it? It can't have a name that says something it isn't. Right?" He said desperately.

Leo groaned. He didn't want to miss his Space Heroes for this. "Can someone pwease explain what's going on?" He sighed.

"It says in the book!" Donnie said energetically, opening his huge book and staggering slightly from the weight. "The blackbewy is not a true bewy. Bot-an-i-caly it is termed an ag-we-gate fwuit composed of small dwu...dwupletes. It is a widespwead and well-known-"

"Wait. Wait. You interrupted my Space Heroes because you wanted to argue over wether or not a blackbewie is a fruit?!" He growled. "Why are you even reading this?" He rounded on Mikey. "And you! Why do you care?!"

Mikey looked sheepish. "Because...I like blackbewies?" He said uncertainly.

**Yeah, that was really short. But I couldn't think of anything better and I needed to write something. I hope it turned out alright. **


	5. Chapter 5: Roundabout

**This one won't have as much to do with the word as some of the others, but I had no idea what to do with this until I saw the new episode. WARNING: this chapter had spoilers for The Mutation Situation. **

_word_:_ roundabout_

_time: right after the Mutation Situation_

"I never want to see any of your faces, _ever again_!" April shouted as she turned and ran from the warehouse. She kept running, not caring where she was going. All she knew was that she had to get away from those...those _jerks _who had caused her father to be mutated.

They were supposed to be so skilled. And yet, they'd somehow dumped mutagen all over the city. It was their fault that her dad was a mutant bat monster now. He had been trying to protect her from the mutagen that the turtles had dumped, and this had happened.

She stopped eventually and realized she'd gone to the manhole cover closest to the lair. She immediately started running away again. She didn't want to be anywhere near them. Her legs were burning, her sides hurt, and her throat felt raw, but she kept running anyway.

She finally stopped when she tripped and fell, scraping her palms on the ground. She sat there for several minutes, palms stinging, cheeks wet from tears she didn't know she'd been shedding. Eventually she tried to pull herself together. She stood up and wiped her eyes, then tried to figure out where she was. She recognized the street she was on, and knew how to get home from there.

She started walking, taking a roundabout route home, giving her more time to think. Part of her hoped one of them would come after her. She wasn't sure why she wanted that - if she wanted to cry in Donnie's arms like she'd done before, or if she wanted someone to yell at again. Yelling felt good, somehow. It felt good to be able to blame someone.

She moved stiffly as she walked to her aunt's apartment. She felt numb now; she wasn't crying anymore. Her aunt opened the door when she knocked. before she could say anything, April just said, "He's gone," and went to wash her scraped hands. Her aunt stared after her.

**Better late than never. I'm not very happy with this one. It's short and has almost nothing to do with the word. But I just wanted to write something about that episode. **


	6. Chapter 6: Manager

**Almost late again! I'm doing well aren't I?**

_Word: Manager_

_Time: Just after the showdown _

_Manage. To look after and make decisions about. Manager. One who manages. _  
Donnie paused at those definitions. He had been flipping through the dictionary, trying to find the meaning of a word he'd just read, when that definition popped out at him.  
After a moment, Donnie thought he might know why. Manager was the perfect word for Leo. Leo always looked after his brothers. He made the decisions for them, or sometimes about them.  
In the Technodrome, Leo reminded Donnie again of the word. He would never forget that moment, those words that his oldest brother spoke.  
"Go! I can't hold it back any longer!" Struggling to keep a grip on Mikey's kusarigama chain, trying to hold back Kraang Prime long enough for his brothers to escape. Leo must have known that there was almost no chance of escaping the Technodrome. And yet he still did this.  
Mikey pulled Raph back into the pod, and Donnie shut the top. Leaving his brother alone to face Kraang Prime.  
"Leonardo!" Raph shouted, placing his hand on the glass. Donnie had never heard so much pain and fear in a single word.  
The escape pod shot out, without Leo. Once they'd landed safely in the water, the top opened. They all watched the Technodrome go down. Mikey gripped the edge.  
"Leo! No!"  
April choked out a sob, burying her face against Donnie's plastron. Donnie closed his eyes sadly. His brother was gone.  
Except then he wasn't. Somehow Leo had escaped the sinking Technodrome, and now he was here again. They all piled into a hug, laughing out of relief.  
Leo fit this description of manager perfectly. One who manages - who looks after and makes decisions about. That was Leo. He looked after his brothers.

**That was really short, but it's what I thought of when I saw the word. Please review and tell me what you think!**


	7. Chapter 7: Piranha

**Hi again! Here's my next chapter. **

_Word: piranha_

_Time: I don't know_

Mikey swallowed and clutched the pillow tighter, eyes riveted to the glowing tv screen that provided the only light in the lair this late at night. There was no noise besides the terrified screaming on TV and Mikey's occasional whimper of fear. He couldn't help wondering why he was watching Attack of the Killer Piranhas at 2:00 in the morning. A small noise, like somebody kicking a pizza box, set Mikey trying to hide under the pillow. A soft noise in the entryway made him jump.  
"Don't let the piranha get me!" He shouted,  
"What the..." A light came on and Raph stepped into the living room. The first thing he noticed was Mikey hiding under the pillow. The second was the DVD case on the ground. Another horror movie.  
"And guess who's gonna be hiding in my room again?" He complained, starting towards Mikey. What he didn't notice was the skateboard on the floor. "Aaaah!" He shouted, feet sliding from under him. Normally he'd be able to catch himself, but it was 2:00 am and he was tired. "Mikey!"  
"Eeek!" Was Mikey's highly intelligent reply.  
"Mikey," Raph sighed. "Go to bed. I don't want you in my room all night again. Shoo."  
"Raph?" Mikey removed the pillow. "Oh. Hehe. Just, uh, checking for dust. All clean." He brushed off the coach theatrically.  
"Glad ta hear it. Go to bed." Raph picked up the remote and turned off the movie. "And don't watch horror movies at night."  
"Fine," Mikey yawned. He was too tired and full of thoughts of giant piranhas to complain. He stumbled off to his room. Smiling a little, Raph followed to go to his own room. After laying down, he started counting in his head. He'd reached about forty when his door opened.  
"Raphie, can I sleep in here tonight? Um, in case the movie scared you. Obviously I'm not scared."  
"Well, what do I get out of it?" Raph asked, trying to keep up his tough attitude, although he wanted to smile.  
"What?" Mikey asked.  
"What do I get if I help you?" Raph clarified.  
"Um...I'll do your chores for a week?"  
Raph folded his arms. "And?"  
"And...you can have my extra slice of pizza tomorrow?"  
Raph glared sternly. "_And_?"  
"What do you want Raph?!" Mikey exclaimed in frustration.  
Raph allowed himself a smirk. Really he just wanted to bug his little brother. Of course he was going to let him stay. "You have to not bug me for a whole week-"  
"Deal!" Mikey interrupted.  
"-and be my servant for a whole week." Raph finished.  
"Raphie!" Mikey complained.  
"If you'd rather stay out..." Raph suggested.  
"Deal! Deal!" Mikey said quickly. Raph tried not to smile as he moved the blanket aside and patted the bed.  
"All right. Good night, little brother."  
"Good night Raphie."

**One more thing: anyone who reads this as t-cest, don't. I don't write that stuff. I don't care if you like that, that's fine. This just isn't t-cest. **


	8. Chapter 8: Hinge

**Hello! This one went so much after than the others, I'm really happy. By the way, there's a poll on my profile if anyone wants to look. I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

_Word: hinge_

_Time: after Showdown but before season 2_

t all hinged on this. The final battle, the ultimate challenge. But the question was - was he ready? Mikey took a deep breath. And another. Preparing himself for the challenge he was about to face. Slowly he began to stretch. Moving smoothly from one form to another, he went through several katas. Then he did something he almost never did willingly - he started to meditate, preparing his mind and body for the great trials ahead.

Leo walked into the living area of the lair, intending to watch Space Heroes. Then he saw Mikey's expression of intense concentration, and stopped, confused. He stared at Mikey for several seconds, until he saw what was in front of the little orange masked turtle. Leo backed away quietly so he wouldn't disturb his brother's concentration.

A few minutes later, April walked into the lair. Donnie ran out of his lab to greet her. April gave Mikey an odd look.  
"What's he doing?" She asked. The lair was oddly quiet.  
"Shhh! If you interrupt him now, he'll mope for days and probably end up breaking stuff!" Donnie whisper-shouted back.  
"Isn't that more Raph's area?" April said quietly. She glanced at the meditating turtle again.  
"Usually. How about we go over to the kitchen and I'll explain?" Donnie began to head toward the kitchen, moving silently. April followed. Mikey ignored them.

Raph wandered through next, Spike on his shoulder. He fed his pet a leaf, and almost tripped over Mikey. He was about to yell when he saw what was going on.  
"C'mon, let's go over here," he muttered to Spike. The red masked turtle crept to the kitchen in full ninja mode.  
Once he entered, he saw Leo, Donnie, and April all sitting around the table. He joined them.  
"So it's that time again?" Raph asked, slightly louder now that he was away from Mikey.  
"Yup. Unfortunately." Donnie replied.  
"How long?" Leo wondered.  
"At least two hours. Maybe more." Donnie said, referring to a paper in front of him.  
"What's going on?" April demanded. She was baffled by the way they were acting.  
"You'll see. He should be starting any minute now," Donnie replied distractedly. He was looking out the door and counting under his breath.  
"Three, two, one..." Leo sighed.  
"BOOYAKASHA!" Mikey's shout echoed through the lair. Then he picked up his game controller and got into what his brothers called 'game mode'.  
"Final level of Mario cart, prepare to be beat!"

**Well, there's another chapter. Until next time! **


	9. Chapter 9: Hardship

**Well, here's the next one. I'm not sure if it makes much sense or anything. Also, there may be mistakes because I'm too lazy to proofread. **

_Word: hardship_

_Time: any_

It hadn't been a good day. They'd attempted to stop some Purple Dragon goons from robbing a store, but failed and almost gotten themselves caught by the police. Then, Mikey almost got hit by a car, and who knows what the driver thought. Then Raph and Leo had fought again, and Raph had stormed off. And now, to top it all off, Raph had gotten himself stuck in a little space between two pipes. A little tiny space crawling with bugs. What a perfect day.  
After some squirming around, he managed to reach his T-phone. Then he was greeted with a new problem: his phone was broken again. He cursed and resisted the urge to throw the phone, mostly because there wasn't enough space. Instead, he started pressing buttons in the hope that it might make something useful happen.

Leo was (of course) watching Space Heroes, and trying to calm down from his latest fight with Raph. He watched admiringly as Captain Ryan ordered his men to help him save the universe from the evil Hypnoticons. If only he could get his team to listen that well.  
He drew a little closer to the screen, then jumped when his phone started ringing loudly. With a sigh, he answered it.  
"What?"  
"Stupid phone, work already!" Raph's voice growled at the other end.  
"Raph? Can't it wait until I finish Space Heroes?" Leo asked, eyes still trained on the screen.  
"You've seen every single episode of that stupid show already! I think this might be just a little bit more important!" Raph snapped angrily. He seemed to be in a bad mood.  
"So what kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?" Leo sighed. He ran over a mental list of things that could go wrong. Kraang, Foot, Karai, Shredder, Snakeweed, Spider bytes, Dogpound, Fishface...wow, there were so many things that could go wrong when he thought about it. Also, why were there so many mutants in New York?  
Raph mumbled something unintelligible. Leo frowned. "What was that?"  
"I'm kind of...stuck." Raph sounded embarrassed.  
"Stuck? What do you mean?" Leo asked.  
"I mean I'm stuck and this stupid little room is crawling with bugs, Leo!" Raph snapped. Leo heard a little tremble in his voice.  
"I see then. I'm on my way." Leo assured him quickly.  
"Thanks Leo," came the soft reply. The call shut off and Leo dashed over to Donnie's lab. He went in without bothering to knock, calling his brother's name. Donnie jumped and pushed up his goggles, turning to look at Leo.  
"What did you break now?" He asked.  
"Donnie-" Leo began, but got interrupted.  
"It's the toaster isn't it? It's always the toaster. Why can't you just leave that poor toaster alone?" Donnie ranted.  
"Donnie-" Leo tried again.  
"I mean, it's not like I don't have a zillion others things to do! But nooo, I have to fix the toaster!" Donnie continued, ignoring Leo.  
"Donatello!" Leo shouted. "Stop. Just...stop. I didn't break the toaster, at least not this time. Raph managed to get himself stuck in some small space with bugs and we need to go get him."  
Donnie blinked. "...oh. Well then, let's go." He pulled of his goggles and grabbed his staff.  
"Now to drag Mikey away from his comic books," Leo sighed. He went off to take care of it.  
A short while later, he came back in, dragging a protesting Mikey by his mask. "But Silver Sentry was about to defeat the big alien and save the world! Leeeeooooo!"  
"Right, let's go," Leo said brightly, ignoring Mikey. When he realized this, the little turtle settled for standing there and pouting. Leo led them into the sewers, then stopped.  
"Where is Raph?" He wondered.  
Donnie held up a t-phone. "I could track his phone's signal?" He suggested.  
"Yes, do that," Leo agreed. After a moment, Donnie began to jog off. Leo and Mikey followed.

Raph swallowed nervously and tried to flick off a bug that had crawled on his arm.  
"Get here soon Leo!" He muttered.  
"So how'd Raph get stuck?" Raph looked up when he heard Mikey's voice. He tried to wiggle free, but his shell was making it hard.  
"He should be somewhere nearby," Donnie said.  
"Right here!" Raph called. "I'm over here!"  
"I think that's Raph," Mikey said unnecessarily.  
"No, it's the Easter Kangaroo! Of course it's me!" Raph snapped, the situation making him even more irritable than normal.  
"So...how did you get stuck, Raph?" Leo wondered.  
Raph scowled. I didn't realize this little space was so small. I thought it was a different tunnel, but I remembered wrong. Is that a cockroach? Get me our of here now Leo!" His voice rose until it was almost high pitched. Had the situation been different, Mikey would have been laughing his head off.  
Leo grabbed Raph's arm and tried to pull him out. After a few moments, Raph popped free, landing on Leo. He quickly got up.  
"Thanks Leo," he said gratefully.  
"What are brothers for?" Leo replied.

**Wow. That turned out long. Oh well. Have a great week!**


End file.
